Joey Mullaney, of Leominster, suffers from Friedreich's Ataxia, a neurological disorder that has sidelined him from playing basketball at the private Groton school. Unable to play sports, he has been the Spartans student manager.

On Saturday, when the team played their final regular season home game against Buckingham Browne and Nichols School, head Coach Kevin Wiercinski had Mullaney dress in uniform and join his teammates on the court.

Video captured one teammate bending down while two others, including his twin brother Sean, hoist him up on the first teammate’s shoulders. He then made the day’s first slam dunk.

"It felt surreal. I wasn't sure what was happening, really,” recalled Mullaney at his Leominster home on Sunday. Everyone was clapping."

His parents, Brenda and David, said they didn't even know what he was about to do.

"I looked up, and Joey's sitting on the court. And I looked at Kayla, and I said, 'What's going on?'" Brenda Mullaney said. "I thought, 'Well, he's not going to get on someone's back.' And then he did."

Brother Sean said the experience was a lot of fun for him as well.

"It was really cool. We played our first game together, so it was only proper that we ended playing together," Sean Mullaney said.

Joey said his condition developed when he was in seventh grade.

“I started to notice, 'Why is everyone developing more than me?'" he said.

The Mullaneys said when their son could no longer play basketball, he found another way to be a part of the team.

"I don't think not being involved was ever an option for Joe,” David Mullaney said. “Joe was going to find a way to contribute and be a part of it."

Wiercinski says Joey Mullaney has been an inspiration and source of determination for the team.

Mullaney plans to attend Quinnipiac University in September. Sean will attend Bowdoin College.